Memories of Tomorrow
by The Truth of Chaos
Summary: The future. Nothing is like it was. Penny, now part time Police Officer, is soon to uncover a truth about the events that took place eight years ago by accidentally stumbling on a certain someone who did not wished to be found. Together, along with others, they must face O.M.E.G.A, a crime boss who dislikes anyone getting in his way.
1. Chapter 1 - First Meeting

The pen had began to lose it's ink. Every pen in the building seemed to be losing their ink. Perhaps it was the amount of paper work and several incidents happening under the line of work the building was built for. The women at the table simply sighed and passed it to the dispenser.

"Another one, please." She requested at the voice recognition. The device beeped several times, until finally it gave a final noise, releasing a new and hopefully full pen. "Thanks."

"No problem, Miss Penny." The robot replied in a metallic, monotone voice. The antlered peanut was getting sick of that voice. All robots had that same tone of voice, and only the expensive ones got any change in voices. Thinking so hard about robots reminded her of what she deemed the perfect robot, her school classmate, Bobert. She wondered where he could be, she hadn't seen him since he went missing six years ago when the Robotic Age was beginning.

Thinking about her classmate reminded her of all of them. And her mind focused particularly about one, but she quickly moved away from him. She didn't want to return back to such a touchy subject. Instead, her thoughts settled on a certain co-worker fish, Darwin. He was the only one she had kept in touch with after she left school, seeing as he seemed to need a friend after the incident. They had become close friends over the years, but nothing romantic. She couldn't, she just couldn't delve into that, and Darwin himself had told her that he had no time for such things as long as there was a job to be done.

Shaking herself out of the the current funk she was in, Penny continued with her work. The commotion around her was an annoyance, but she lived through it. She had to, in order for her to pay her rent. Places to stay were so expensive these days.

An hour afterwards the day was over, and Penny was quickly packing her things, ready for the trip home. As the last of her personal equipment was packed away, she felt a pair of eyes staring at her, waiting. She looked up, to see a very familiar friend standing a few feet away.

"Penny." Darwin greeted as soon as she looked up at him.

"Darwin." She replied, smirking a little with one raised brow. The fish smiled back, crossing his arms and leant against a nearby wall. He had grown over the years, standing as tall as Penny in terms of height. To make himself even more defined as a grown person, his face and donned a small moustache above his lips. "So, what is it this time?"

"Lately, the investigations with these mysterious new public figures, you know, the Bandit Reaper and Black Edge, are going rather slow. We're hitting dead ends, and we need help." The fish exclaimed. "I was wondering if you'd like to quit the normal work and help with the investigation."

"Would it mean any extra time on my part?" Penny asked rather seriously. She had another job to tend to, and that took enough time off her already.

"Not at all. It's also extra pay." He claimed rather smugly. Penny put her hand to her figurative chin, in thought, before nodding in agreement.

"Sounds good. See you tomorrow then?"

"Yup. I hope you have nice day, Penny." He remarked before walking back into his office. Penny waved to him as she picked up her bag and walked out of the office area, and passed the entrance doors, exiting the building and returning outside.

The building in question was the Police Department.

Penny held her head high as she began her walk home. Already the sun had begun to set, and after a long gruelling day of two part time jobs, and constant monotones voices bugging her about every little thing, all Penny could think about was going home and relaxing on her nice comfy bed.

The streets weren't crowded, but the roads definitely were. The electric powered cars came racing down them, almost impossible to number. Penny paid them no notice, it was like a normal dusk in Elmore nowadays. She readjusted her stature and began waking down the street path, only passing a small few people before she reached the end of the street.

Turning left for the shortcut through the forest, Penny thanked who ever made roads stayed clear of creating one through the nice natural park. She trekked down the sandy path casually, her boots creating a rather relaxing crunch against nature's ground. She eyed the beautiful trees around her, the sounds of the insects and the wind rustling against the leaves of the trees. And the rusting in the nearby bushes that gave a glinted silver shine.

Penny did an instant double tale on the bush, now to see and bent over feral looking rat man holding a knife close to her body. He was covered in rags, his tongue licking across his lips. Penny screamed in fear, turning around to run away from what looked like a mugging, but as she did, she ran into a tree, making her dizzy. To regain her footing, she backed up against the tree, so the criminal couldn't attack her from behind. You never leave your back exposed, she learnt from the police department.

"Hello la'y." The rat hissed crazily, giving her a good look over. Penny couldn't help but notice of his lack of the letter 'D'. "You shoul' know that the woo's aren't a goo' place to walk at night." He edged closer, bringing the knife to her face so she could get a good look over. Before she could think about kicking him, he pulled out a second knife, much larger and suited to butcher things, and held it close to his body for protection.

"Get away from me!" She screeched, her body shivering in fear. She didn't want to die, especially not by the hands of some scoundrel.

"But why woul' I 'o that, Miss?" He said, bringing the knife closer. "First, I'm gonna kill you. Then, I'm going to take your belongings, and then, finally, I'm going to leave you in the park river. Because that's what I 'o."

"W-Wait..." Penny recognised him. She was only trying to remember know, hopefully to buy herself more time. Finally, something clicked in her head, from earlier today at the Police Department. "D-Dirty Drake?! You're Dirty Drake, wanted for the death of an I-innocent family!" She said, rather to herself than him. He only grinned, his tongue circling his lips once again.

"Ooooo, seems like I'm getting popular..." He bearded his teeth, bringing the knife edge to her shell. "I'm sure I can get even more notice' if you 'ie here by my knives!"

Penny closed her eyes ready for the slice the criminal was obviously about to do. She held her breath, waiting for her death. And waited. And waited. And waited. Penny opened her eyes in confusion, only for her expression to turn to shock.

There, standing before her, was a shadowed figure, donned in a ripped long leather jacket, black turtleneck shirt, ripped up dark jeans, and a black notched stetson hat to cover his face, the only thing visible underneath said hat was one yellow, glowing eye with a slit pupil, which was looking at her. The scariest thing about him however, wasn't his look. It was his arm. Or rather, pitch black scythe.

His left arm, from the elbow down, was a sharp, long, and deadly scythe blade that extended out of the sleeve of his leather jacket, was just touching the neck of the rat bandit, easily cutting the tip of the skin as a small amount blood trickled down his neck. Penny knew this figure. He was renowned for his speed, strength, endurance, but most of all deadly scythe. This was one of the people Darwin was currently researching, a mysterious figure that found criminals and gave them to the police in secret while stealing the amount of money from the same building that matched the amount of the reward for the said criminal. The public had given him the name of the Bandit Reaper.

A reaper bounty hunter.

"Drop the knives before I make you choke on your own blood." The bounty hunter said in a dark, serious tone. Dirty Drake was shaking in fear, he could feel his blood drop down from the stinging cut on his neck. The knives instantly left his hands, and fell to the ground like rocks. The Bandit Reaper then clasped his right hand over the scum's mouth with a cloth, and the rat instantly fell asleep. Penny stilled looked at him in fear and awe, amazed he got the job done so soon.

As the rat collapsed in his grasp, the figure quickly pulled away his long, scythe arm, to not bring him in harms way. Penny partially understood why he did that. Perhaps so he may feel honourable about stealing the money, seeing as if he was in perfect condition, it would be like returning an item that has not been opened. Penny pondered on that being the only good reason. She looked on at the reaper, who was now bending down over the body of the criminal. What happened next surprised her greatly.

His scythe arm began to shift in shape, moulding and reforming until it had shrunk to half it's size. Now, it resembled a normal black arm and hand, like the arm on the right, only it's fingers had spiked ends, his yellow glowing eye had also changed, fading away and making his entire face hidden in shadow. He lifted his prey on his shoulder and used his dark arm to keep him steady, gave the antlered peanut a tip of his hat, and turned, ready to run off with his prize.

Before he did however, in an act of desperation and instinct, Penny reached out and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him while burying her face into his shoulder, crying openly. The Bandit Reaper jumped in surprise, which soon made him feel awkward as he tried to comfort the person he just saved. He pat her back slowly with his free hand while she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I w-was so s-scared..." Penny sniffed, still crying. She felt like a fool, but crying into the shoulder of this being made her feel... relaxed for a reason she couldn't understand. This bounty hunter just felt familiar, and that made her feel relief.

"It's okay to be scared." The reaper began, trying his best to sooth her. "Everyone has their fears."

"... W-who are you?" Penny asked, looked up to the figure's face, covered in complete shadow.

The man sighed, and Penny could tell it came from sadness. "Someone who can't be himself." After that, he gave her a pat on the head, turning away and readying himself to run off again.

"Wait!" Penny shouted, causing the bounty hunter to flinched and turn his head, implying he was now staring at her. She smiled nervously. "My n-name is Penny, Penny Fitzgerald... Thank you for saving me..."

The figure froze up at the name, as if he had seen a ghost. He stared at the lady he just saved for a long time. Penny felt awkward in the silence, but she could swear she knew this person, even though she had never met anyone who had a body or a voice like his. Before she could speak, the Bandit Reaper turned and dashed off, much quicker than what she thought possible. Before a second had passed, he jumped over the reach of the trees as if it was the easiest thing in the world, and disappeared over the tree line. Penny gazed off in wonder, as no normal being could do that.

She turned and ran, kicking the knives into a nearby bush on he way. Hopefully now no one would find them and use them for the wrong purpose. As she dashed as fast as she could, she soon felt herself getting exhausted. The end of the pathway which lead into an empty suburban street was only a few feet away. She slowed down, and exited the forest path, and onto the sidewalk. Only two houses down and she was at hers. Well, the one she was renting. It was full on night now, with the moon reaching far over the horizon, accompanied by a great many stars. She gazed at the beautiful sky, and, if only for a second, she felt truly happy. She didn't know why, but something inside her had sparked again. Shaking her head, she turned to her home, walking to the front door of her rented home. And the first she did was placed her stuff by her bedroom, and flop down on her bed to relax.

At the entrance to the now colossal junkyard, a lone, dark figure walked into the entrance, holding a heavy bag in his left arm. He walked towards the place where all of today's robots go to when they shut down. The bodies of hundreds of broken machine scattered the area. Moving passed the body of a huge carrier classed mech, the man in the stetson hat found the trap door behind the mighty body of the mech. He pressed a button on its side, causing the trap door to open and drop him inside.

The bounty hunter landed perfectly with his bag of acquired money, placing it on the counter of the workshop his partner worked in. He looked down on his little buddy, who returned the gaze.

"Welcome back. How did today go?" The small robot asked in a humane and social tone. The figure pulled off his hat, and placed it on the counter next to the money.

"It was... surprising. I met an old friend today." He told his small but ingenious companion.

"Is it someone I knew?"

"Yeah, you knew her. She went to the same school as us."

"Oh really? Who was it then?"

The figure turned to smile to his only friend. "It was Penny."


	2. Chapter 2 - Hostage Situation

W4"So, you're telling me you encountered the Bandit Reaper yesterday, and not only did he save your life, he... gave you a hug?"

"No, I forced it on him. I was just... scared."

"It's rather hard to believe. Luckily, I trust you enough to believe you. The fact Dirty Drake 'mysterious' appeared outside in a bag, perfectly fine other than being drugged, is a good piece of evidence. Besides, at least from this we've learnt that the Bandit Reaper apparently has the ability to shape-shift his arm into whatever he wishes, though with some obvious limitations."

Penny nodded to Darwin's deduction, along with the doughnut sheriff who was also in the room. Penny remembered Darwin almost had risen in ranks to become his commanding officer, until he decided to switch to detective for these abnormal occurrences. The sheriff was here as it was his duty as representative of the police force to know if these unknown figures were a threat to public security. So far, all he had learnt was this mysterious bounty hunter was better catching criminals then him.

"So, now what?" Penny asked, clueless of what to do next.

"We learn more about him and his abilities, watch from afar, hope to uncover something that may lead us to discover his true identity." Darwin stated rather casually. "Now we just need to learn more about Black Edge, and possibly Destroyer."

"Destroyer?" Penny asked Darwin, never hearing of the title before.

"Since you're in on our little investigation, you do have a right to know." Darwin stated, now looking a bit worried. "A destructive being we have codenamed the 'Destroyer' has appeared three in our city, and according to eye witnesses, he is a creature completely pitch black, that stands on four legs, has a jaw that can open far wider than any living being should, and has a pair of arms growing out of his back, fitted with deadly sharp claws, that can apparently stretch in any direction for a long distance. Bad news is no weapons can hurt it. Worst of all, from the first to the last incident, the Destroyer seems to be getting bigger with each appearance, growing roughly one metre, then two, so it's safe to assume, that, if we ever see him again, he will have grown a total of six metres in difference from his first appearance. And, hence the codename, it is a rampaging beast that obliterates anything in it's path."

Penny looked at him, rather scared. "How much offensive power?"

"It can destroy a single skyscraper with a single slash. It has so far downed fifteen major community buildings, and damaged over fifty buildings in general. Our robotic forces prove no match, being sliced up like nice triangle sandwiches. However, while it destroys everything, it doesn't not kill, as it makes sure no one is crushed by falling debris from buildings. It has caused some major injuries, but never death." Darwin exclaimed, raising his flappers to his chin in thought. "I still don't know why a creature so... disastrous would do such a thing."

Penny thought about it too for a moment, before shaking her head and tried to get back on topic.

"So, what about Black Edge? Apparently, according to the media, he's a vigilante that destroys rouge robotics that can cause much harm to the populace, but according to the public, he's our modern definition of super hero." Penny claimed, hoping Darwin would inquire further.

"Ah, yes, Black Edge, the ultimate weapon. A being in robotics that has several weapons he uses to his command to destroy any enemy forces in his way. Ever since crime has risen in Elmore, I'm actually glad we have Reaper and Edge basically working for us." Darwin remarked, shrugging. "Still, it would help if they didn't keep themselves in secret. Then again, any possible family they normal have would be in danger from the recent criminals." The doughnut officer was beginning to feel drowsy, all this information to learn in such a short time

"I'm going back to normal office work. I'll be ready for anything else you throw at me tomorrow. Keep up the good work." He muttered as he exited the room.

"So, what artillery does Edge have?" Penny asked, not caring about the leaving off the officer.

"Drill bullets that shoot straight through any armour, a seemingly unlimited stock of missiles, a high powered laser with enough power to run a rocket, a shield made entirely of energy, jet wings on his back which enable him flight, and finally, a last defence shockwave that disintegrates anything it touches. So, in other words, an indestructible force on all modern accounts. I would be terrified if the military managed to get their hands on such technology."

Penny sat there, digesting all this information. "How many sightings?"

"Fifteen so far. The public gave him the name Black Edge after one managed to get close enough to see 'Edge' writing on side of his arm, along with another sighting of a word on the waist, which he thought was 'Black'. Later, with photographic evidence, we discovered the words on the arm were 'Weapon Edge', and on the waist was 'Battle Armour'. While this mistake didn't lead us to any possible lead son the subject, it has stuck with the community, and we have labeled him as such."

"Do you have photographs?" The Doe-nut asked. She had seen him on the news before, but never high quality picture of the being. Darwin nodded, going over to a drawer, and pulling out a file, and giving it to Penny. She opened it up and on the very front was a picture of the being.

A humanoid figure clod in black armour with red strips. It seemed to be made of the latest type of tech, a design which she had never seen before. Prodding from its back were wings that resembles a miniature jumbo jet's. The head seemed to made to be aerodynamic, as it was pointed at the chin, becoming triangular as it left an edge along the front of the face, perfect for cutting air. Two long aerial fins were placed the back of the head, seemingly for nothing. The finally detail was that it only had one optical point on its body, a single camera lensed, red, glowing eye on the left side of the face.

"So, who do you think created the armour?" Penny asked, looking up at her friend.

"No idea, it seems to be completely custom, as there are no companies out there with designs as complex as this. No, this was the work of a lone force, I believe."

Penny looked down at the picture again, and back up at the file. She pulled out a few more pictures. One was of the Black Edge shooting several bullets from its gauntlet forearms, blasting down a group of weapon robots. Another was of it protecting several citizens from a huge attacker class android, using its shield to stop the bullets. The final one to catch her interest was of Edge high in the sky, inside a huge of red coloured energy ball, with several flying robots being destroyed as soon as they make contact with the shockwave.

"I see what you mean..." Penny exclaimed. "Any idea on the gender?"

"Witnesses say male, many hearing orders of escape in a low voice. However, it can easily be changed with voice modification devices, so we can only guess. Assumptions guess male though, simply because of the figure design of the armour."

"I see." Penny looked at her watch. Her work was coming up to its end, bringing much relief to Penny. "My shift's almost over for today... see you later Darwin." She said as she was packing her bags.

"Yeah, see you later." He said, warmly waving as she left the office. She exited the building, holding the bags on her back as the sun was high in the sky, her morning shift for her police work over for today. She had three hours before she had to get to the dance academy, which gave her time to think.

Sadly, at the moment, her belly growled and filled her thoughts with the essence of food. She began walking down the road, glancing several other people and their often robotic companion. She gave each of them a stare, all reminding her of stuff like the iPhones. You think it's better, when its just the same, only altered in appearance. She shook her head in disappointment for the society she lived in today when she walked into a fast food restaurant. She looked around, seeing only four others, three men chatting in the corner, taking a break from work obviously, and an young lady. The antlered peanut walked up to the counter, seeing as no one was lined up currently, and saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Garry." She said with a wave. The teenager immediately stopped drooling and stood straight, having fell asleep on the counter.

"Huh? Oh, hey Penny. The usual?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"Yes please." She said with a nod. "Stay up late again?"

"Yeah, but the overtime was worth it. Soon enough, probably a month from now, I'll finally be able to buy a car." He said, cracking his back. "Ooooo yea... That's better. Well, your chicken-burger and chips will be coming right up, so just take a seat while I get them prepared."

Penny nodded, and sat at a table by the window. No one came here around lunch time, since most people were still at their jobs. She came here so she could always have first serve before the three o'clock rush. She stared out of the window, watching the outside world with little interest. Instead, she began to daydream, her thoughts moving back to the previous day. She wondered about the Bandit Reaper. Many thought him to be a criminal that caught criminals, and in a way, they were right, as he stole from the police, but were his intentions good? Was he a good person? And why is his arm like that? She pondered over those questions as she waited for her meal, failing to see three large, bulky robots entering the building.

The walked up to the counter, making their presence know with their heavy footsteps. Penny turned, staring at the machines in annoyance. Garry Needlemeyer quickly rushed to the counter, putting on one of his best fake smiles.

"How may I help you?" He asked nervously, looking up at the heavy mechs. The largest stood forth, it's three, pin-point yellow eyes scanning the surrounding area.

"We require something you can give us." It answered in a monotoned deep voice. Garry clasped his hands together.

"Well, select what ever meal your owner desires." He replied, showing them the menu hanging over his head. The robot glanced up, then down at Garry once again.

"Our master does not want a meal." He said as he lifted his hand towards Garry. "He requires hostages." Then, his hand disappeared into his metallic arm, and a laser cannon replaced it. Garry shouted in fear, grabbing the attention of everyone else in the restaurant. The two other robots quickly pointed their own weapons devices, consisting of gatling beam shooters and pin-point destroyers. The trio of men held their arms up in surrender, the lady screaming and getting low to cower. Penny, a little stunned, only backed up against her chair.

The lead robot once again looked at Garry. "Call the police." It ordered. The teenager noodling and grabbing the phone nearby.

Penny looked around frantically, hoping to find somewhere to escape, but the three robots were covering every exit and watching every hostage. She felt hopeless, just like yesterday, which only made her angry. She heard Garry talk frantically on the phone in terror, the robot's weapon next to his head.

The doe-nut sighed, and sat in her chair, putting on a bitter expression. Feeling helpless was becoming something regular for her.

She heard the clang of the phone as her sight turned to Garry, seeing him to turn to the large robot pointing a cannon at his head after finishing the call.

"Alright, I called the police. Just please don't hurt me..." He muttered terrified. The robot in reply grabbed the teen by the collar with his weapon less arm, lifted him above the counter, and threw him into the corner of the room. He groaned in pain after the impact, falling to the ground as his back had just been injured, gritting his teeth.

"Everyone, into the corner." The lead mech orders, pointing his guy at Penny while looking at everyone else. The customers obliged, getting from their tables to sit near Larry, including Penny, after a short momentary wait.

"You alright?" She asked Garry, checking his back. He gave a grunt of pain, but seemed only bruised.

"I'm... Fine. It could be a lot worse." He answered, forcing a smile. She smiled back sadly in kind as the robots each had their weapons of different calibers pointed at the hostages.

"Do not interfere, or we will shoot and kill." The lead's right hand robot with the gatling beam shooter. The lead only gave them a small glare as he turned and walked to the entrance, guarding it.

"Mech H, go cover the back door." He order, the third robot nodding and vaulting over the counter and jogged to the back of the building, out of sight. "You little commoners best hope that you are worth something more than ten thousand." The lead stated, his eyes staring outside as he waited from police.

It didn't take them very long to get there, seeing as the department was only a walking distance away. Five cars had lined up outside, along with a motorbike, and the police force were remaining territorial, stating near the cars as they unsheathed their weapons. A orange fish made his way to the front, and brought out a loud speaker.

"What are your terms?" Darwin asking, getting bluntly to the point.

"Ten thousand in cash and all the hostages go free." The lead mech replied from inside with a voice as loud as the microphone. The police looked at each other in unease, Darwin especially.

"How many do you have captive?"

"A total of six, but if our terms are not met you will be left with none." He answered, turning and pointing his cannon arm at the group. "Do you accept our demands?"

"... Please allow us a total of three hours to obtain said amount." Darwin reluctantly replied.

"A maximum of two hours and no less."

Darwin's heart dropped for a second. He gulped, and slowly nodded. "Alright... We'll have it in two hou—"

He stopped mid-sentence however, as the fish heard a familiar sound of extreme soaring speed. He turned around, along with many other policeman, and was stunned upon seeing the source of the noise. Even the lead robot decided to join them to discover the source. If that lead robot felt and showed emotions there and now, it would have grimaced in dismay.

The flying object flew directly above the building, and then dived down vertically in a screeching plummet, smashing through the roof of the building and landing in the centre of the hostage situation. Everyone aside the robots flinched and covered their eyes as the dust and debris flung everywhere.

As the dust began to clear, Penny waved the dust away from her eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the object. Her eyes widened at the sight, glancing upwards towards the figure standing over her.

"... Black... Ed—"

The vigilante turned straight towards Penny and the rest of the hostages, and within an instant a huge shield surrounded the group from a torrent of laser bullets. As soon as he saw it was ineffective, the robot previously shooting charged at the mech warrior. However, when it was close enough, the shield dropped down and a fist went straight through the abdomen of the approaching robot. The bot's eyes flickered, then went out. Black Edge dropped the body to the floor, already concentrating on the second one in the room.

The boss robot grunted and readied his own weapon, the laser cannon charging for an attack. Black Edge turned towards it and dashed towards him, grabbing the front of the cannon and crushing it just as it was about to fire, causing the resulting backfire to blow the lead bot far back and smash against the brick wall. The rescuer dusted himself off at the shoulders, rolling them a bit as he remember there was one more robot in the report. He glanced around, hoping to find the missing number.

Penny simply gazed up in amazement, her jack slacking slightly at the sight of one man taking out two dangerous robots in less than ten seconds. But as she gazed up at him, she saw a single green glowing dot move up his armour, seemingly unknowing to him, as he was conveniently staring the other way. She gasped in realisation, looking back to the counter to see the third robot hiding behind a corner, but his weapon was locked and ready to fire. She turned back to the savoir, and began opening her mouth to warn him, but was cut short as she, along with her entire group of hostages were pushed back by a large explosion that came from the blast that hit Black Edge's head. She knew no one could ever survive a blast like that to the help, and felt a little limp as she waited for the dust to clear, so she could identify the body.

The robot came out from his hiding spot, putting away his pin-point destroyer as he gazed at the dust. The scanners however, picked up a lifeform in the dust, and made the robot wonder if he himself was malfunctioning. Nothing could come out of that blast intacted.

Sadly, both the bot and the doe-nut were wrong to think Black Edge could be bested so easily. Everyone in the room widened their eyes as the curtain of dust finally fell to reveal an unmoved opponent, with only a small scratch where the blast had hit the armour. The being turned his head, and his voice; deep, artifical, and intimidating, spoke for the first time that day.

"My turn."

Black Edge completely turned his body, and from a pointed finger a thin laser shot from it and in a swift flick of the finger, the robot's right arm was cut off in a second, removing him from his weapon. He then clenched his fist, and leaped towards the bot. Without anytime to react, the fist made contact with the robotic being, and on impact, released an explosive shell from his knuckles, blowing the criminal mech in two in a deadly explosion.

The hostages, including Penny, stared at the sight in utter shock and awe. The hero then turned, and upon reaching the entrance to the building, kicked it open as the door has already been damaged. Walking out, he stood ten metres from the police group, crossing his arms in mockery.

"I guess I did your job again today, hmm?" He said in his irregular voice.

"And we thank you for your assistance, Black Edge, but seeing that we do not know your identity and you posses weapons that could threaten hundreds, if not thousands of people, I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you under arrest." Darwin replied loudly, so he could be clearly heard.

"And you know I can't do that." The black armoured man said with a chuckle. "Imagine how much of the damage costs I would have to pay."

"Haha, very funny. You could make this a lot easier on yourself by turning yourself in."

"I thank you for the offer, but I will retain my hidden identity."

"It was not an offer, it is an order."

"I don't take orders from you, detective."

"Then we will just take you in by force."

The vigilante stayed silent for a while, then began to snicker, then chuckle, then laugh. He even clutched his belly in hysterics. However, he soon found his laughter joined by something far more dark, croaky, and sinster, and soon stopped to find that this dark laughter was coming from inside. Turning around, he rushed inside to see Penny standing over the upper body of the lead robot, the intact head still managing to laugh. The warrior picked up the robot, and glared at it.

"Why are you laughing? You are an emotionless unit."

It croaked, reached with is stuttering broken arm it's chest compartment. He opened it to reveal a timer connect to a pulsing black container, counting down from exactly one minute. "… YoU lOsE…"

Black Edge looked taken aback, growling. "A Dex Core?! Shit!" He looked at the people around him, and felt unease take him. These were the innocent, and he would not let their lives be taken. One of them seemed to know what a Dex Core was, judging by the look on her face. The timer reached thirty seconds, he had only one thing he knew he could do. He grabbed the carcass of the robot, and using his jets, rocketed through the roof and once again into the sky, far from sight.

Penny trembled, knowing the full power a potentially disengaged Dex Core could do. An entire city could be levelled by something like that, two even if it was truly powerful. She glanced up, wondering how far the dying core had gone. No matter, even at the speed he was travelling, he would not be able to make the explosion outside the radius of the city.

But for Black Edge, desperate times call for desperate measures. Far more than high enough, he activated his bubble shield and amplified his armour's one three times more powerful. This was going to hurt. He held his breath as the timer hit the final number.

Penny heard a loud crack, and saw a black explosion where Black Edge had flown, seemingly contained, struggling in a bubble of energy. It strained, and the bubble eventually burst. However, instead of the huge explosion she was expecting, the blast fizzled out, already lost of all power. Several pieces of metal flew out in all directions, with a huge piece of derbis falling to the north.

The anterlered peanut had a pretty good idea of what that piece of debris was, and rushed outside, to the group of police. She quickly hopped on one of the motorcycles, racing off before anyone, let alone Darwin, could say anything.

A loud smash was heard in the distance, near a suburban district, the smoke trail in the sky fading fast. Penny flicked on the motorcycle's police lights with ease, speeding up to arrive on the scene first. The crash site was nearing as such intense speeds, and she had crossed in the area she believed it crashed. Looking into the several alleyways, she found one particularly distraught, with several bags of rubbish blown everywhere. She looked on down the way to see a lone, living figure amongst the pile of rubble. She hopped off the motorbike, and rushed forward, bending down to see a tall being covered in black ash, with a bit of blood coming from his arm overlapping the dark dust. But the being was alive. That's what mattered. She felt like calling an ambulance but then this saviour would have to be thrown in jail afterwards. She knew how the law worked.

Her gaze remained on this odd person, until there was a little bit of movement in the rubbish not too far off. She turned to see a small, black robotic arm reach out, and out climbed a small robot, badly damaged, coloured in black with red trims, two tiny jet wings at the back, and a single black and red eye. It instantly saw the beaten up man, and gasped. Penny was instantly stunned. What was a robot programmed with emotions doing in a dump like this? The little bot ran up to the wounded man, and began shaking him.

"Uncle! Get up! Someone's watching!" The robot said in a… normal, childlike voice, filled with a level of fear. Penny starred at it dumbfounded, knowing that there were only the rich that could afford robots that had regular voices. The man he was shaking however only groaned, his face contorting in pain. Penny looked at him worried, and turned to the little robot beside her.

"Who are you two?" She asked quickly, looking back and forth between the duo.

"That's none of your business lady!" The little black bot snapped, trying to shake his friend awake. Penny rolled her eyes, and stood up, and began picking up the hurt man, stunning the little robotic child for a moment, before he instantly become worried.

"Lady! What are you doing?! Put down my uncle at once!"

"He needs help, if you didn't know. He seems heavily wounded, and I have a friend that lives near here that could help." Penny replied, holding the man in her arms. Surprising, he was quite light.

"Lady, it doesn't matter if he's hurt or not! He'll get better with or without your help!"

"Well, what about the cops? Do you want your friend to be caught by them?"

"Lady, I can see that motorcycle at the end of the alleyway. You yourself are a cop." The small robot replied quite bluntly. Penny blushed in embarrassment, having been caught so easily.

"Well, I want to help this… who is he?" Penny asked the robot out of the blue again, looking at the burnt face of the man. He seemed to have whiskers. "I think I know him from somewhere…"

"Nah, not possible. He doesn't know anyone here, ever since he cam— Wait why am I telling you this!? Let go of my uncle!" The robot shouted as they exited the alley. Some people were looking at the oddly, but Penny didn't notice. First worry on her mind was getting this guy to safety, as she heard the sound of sirens coming from not too far off. She turned and gasped as she saw the small robot eat her motorcycle.

"Hey! What are you doi— " Her question was answered as she watched. The robot fed on the bike's metal body, and all the damages began repairing themselves. Soon, the small bot was looking shiny and new. He caught up with Penny, frowned, then looked towards the direction of the sirens.

"Alright, where does this friend of yours live?" The small bot asked.

"Down the road, in a small house he rents."

"Understood."

The sound of sirens increased, and Penny and her odd companion hurried in their pace. Turning a corner, they just managed to escape the sight of the police cars that had just turned the corner. Sighing in relief, Penny walked faster, the place of rest not too far from where they were. A few house forward they found their loacation, with the man in Penny's grasp groaning in an attempt to wake. Penny shook her head and knocked on the door three times.

"Coming!" I voice said from inside, and the sound of soft footsteps came towards the door. Unlocking was done and the door was opened to reveal a tall flower, with pink petals and a fancy pot to carry himself around in. "Oh Penny, I wasn't… expecting… company…" The flower stuttered, eyes widening at the sight of his cousin and her little package.

"No time, Lesley. I need somewhere to put this guy down so I can check on his injuries." Penny explained, rushing past him inside, the little robot following.

"But I told you! He'll get be—"

"Quiet!" She ordered, finding the living room and placing the stranger on the couch. Lesley quickly caught up with the group, thinking of something to say.

"Er…" He began, then began frowning. "Who is that guy?! What's he doing in my house?" He asked, raising an eyebrow to Penny.

"You know that guy that's been saving people from rogue robots? Black Edge?" She asked, examining the man on the couch.

"Of course I do. He's all over the news!"

"I think this is that guy."

Lesley went quiet, and glanced down at the man on his couch. "You're kidding… right?"

"I don't joke." Penny replied, standing up. "I'm gonna go get some bandages for his wounds. Where are they? Also, can you clean this ash off him?"

"In the kitchen. Why is he covered in ash?" The flower asked, moving towards his new guest.

"Stopped an explosion that could have destroyed the city by taking most of the blast." She exclaimed, disappearing into the kitchen. "It was a Dex Core, too."

"Now I know you're joking." He claimed, starting to wipe the ash of his face with a cloth. "No one could survive that."

"Well, he did." Penny replied, looking for bandages in the countless cupboards.

"He must be a robot, or an android, or something." The flower guessed, the ash slowly fading off of the figure.

"He isn't a robot." The small robot who was now standing next to the house owner said. Lesley looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing where he had come from.

"Who the heck are you?!" The flower screamed, in the which the robot sighed.

"None of your concern. I'm just here to look after him." The little bot said, pointing to the man on the couch.

"Er… fine, whatever." The flower replied, the ash coming off the man's face. Lesley's eyes widened, and he hurried to wipe the rest of the ash off the wounded man's face. He gasped at the now uncovered face, and turned to the kitchen.

"Uh, Pen—"

"Do you want to hear something Lesely? That man saved my life twice today. First time, I was in a hostage situation, second was the Dex Core…" Penny began, still looking for some bandages.

"Penny, you really shoul—"

"And to believe his armour could withstand something so powerful? I wonder what it's made of… and who made it?" She continued, oblivious her cousin's pleas.

"Penny, pleas—"

"He took down three battle classed mech's in under two minutes, and took a concentrated blast to the head and survived! He didn't even use his long range weap—"

"PENNY!" Lesley shouted, now demanding her attention.

"What?" She asked back, a bit stunned by his outburst.

"You need to come and see this…"

She quickly headed out of the kitchen, moving swiftly to the living room to see on the couch a familiar face. Whiskers, pointy ears, and blue fur. She brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock. "Impossible…"

"There's only one family in Elmore that has fur like this." Lesley stated, turning to Penny. "Do you think it's…?"

"No." She stated flatly, her hands moving back to her sides. "Must be someone from out of town, it can't be him. He's dead, and he died a long time ago."

"I guess you're right…" Lesley gave in, giving the guest another glance over. "Still, he does bear a huge resemblance to Gumball."

"Yeah…" Penny answered, looking down at the tall blue cat on the couch. Her eyes glanced down to his arm to check if the wound had stopped bleeding. She had to do a double take, because she was taken by surprise. Getting on her knees and using the cloth to scrub his right arm, it once again obtained blue fur, but there was no longer a wound. Just a small cut… which too disappeared in a moment. Penny frowned, blinking several times to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. "How is that possible?"

Her attention turned onto the small robot companion, her eyes piecing into his gaze. This robot, unlike the battle mechs, knew fear. And this lady was terrifying.

"Who is he? Where is his wound?"

"His regeneration speed is over a thousand times that of a normal person. It also heals wounds that some wound consider fatal." The small robot answered instantly.

Penny's glare deepened. "You didn't answer my first question."

"I can't tell you. It's against my programming." It answered, shivering in fear.

Penny glared for a bit more, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll ask him when he wakes up. Lesley, do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"

"Not at all, you seem to have had a busy day." The flower answered. "Down the hall, first door on the left."

"Thanks… What about him?" She asked, pointing to the blue cat.

"I'll get him some blankets. Now get to sleep."

"But it's still mid-afternoon." She replied.

"Penny, you're tired. I know. I also know how early you need to get up to start work." He said with smile, moving off towards the storage room. Penny sighed and nodded, anad began her trek to her temporary room when she gave a last glance back, and saw the little, annoying robot still by the cat's side.

"Aren't you going to find an electrical output to charge?"

"I don't need to charge, lady. You on the other hand should get some rest. You had a very… " He answered, not even giving her a glance. Penny frowned and turned, stubbornly walking down the hallway and into the first room on the left. It seemed cosy, so to her it would do. She curled up on the bed, placing the cover over her as she shut her eyes and slowly drift off to sleep, the guest in the house reminding her of days long gone.


End file.
